Nail distributing apparatus



Jan. 19, 1932. 1-:. R. POPE NAIL DISTRIBUTING APPARATUS Filr zd July 6. 192's Fig 1.

,4 /NVEN7'7R. 24% J 4 Patented Jane it), 1%32 i funirensra'res I tanner .ww c rries ELMIER R. POPE, OF HAMILTGN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGEOR' TO UTTITED SHOE MA- OHINERY CQRPOEATIQN, OF PATEBSSN, NE? JERSEY, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY 1 Application filedJ'uly 6,

My invention relates to apparatus for delivermg nails or like fasten1ngs,and is particularly concerned with apparatus by WlllCll "ithese fastenings are supplied to blocks or raceway-structure are delivered in groups other receivers,'from which they are to be utilized in connection with such inserting machines'as those employed for loading or attaching heelsfor shoes.

In Letters Patent of the United States No.

2 1,325,752, granted December 23, 1919 on application ofJoseph H. Pope, is disclosed'a distr butingapparatus of the character 1nd1- cated above; In t.n1s,.na1ls from a vibratory by discharge device throughtubes'and a foot-bar in which the lower extremities of the tubes terminate,to a blocl; having a plurality. of series of recelvlng openings.

that all itsseries of openings are supplied with na ls. Then the block 1s removed from the distrlbutor for use 111 a nailing machlne. Oc-

ture of the foot-bar and block, a caught nail lying in both. Under these conditions, the

" block is locked against movement, and,-si nce it cannot be drawn out, it has been the practice to remove the tubes from the foot-bar, so access is had releasing the caught nail or nails. An object of thisinvention is'to facilitate this clearing operation. To this end, I provide a conduit through whichthe nailsenter the receiving.

block points downward, said conduit having a portion movableupon the withdrawal of the block in a direction transverse to the travel of the nailthrough the conduit This movable portion is arranged for actuation. by a nail lying in both the'block and conduit topermit the passageof said hail from the latter.- Herein, themovable portion is shown as a yieldable wall preferably normally closing side of the passages in the foot-bar through which the tubes deliver. l/Vith such an organization,- if a tube is clogged between the foot-bar and block, thelatter is simply drawn out. This forces the retained nail The bloclris fedbeneaththe tubes step by step, so

to the passages in the latter for NAIL nrsrnrnnrine APPARATUS 192s. Serial No. 290,794.

against the foot-bar wall, which yields so that the removal of the block is not interfered with. The conduit may then be cleared as is most convenient, I

Because, among other reasons, of the desirability of removing thetubes from the footbar for clearing the passages, it. vhas'been customary to make these tubes flexible by forming them of helices of 'wirerfAs a re sult of handling, thdconvolutions of the helices become displaced lalerally, and, instead of the properly-smooth nail-conducting interior surface, they assume a stepped relation, and the projections may catchand retain nails. Another-object of this invention is to remove the possibility of such action by an assembly of tubes having permanently smooth interiors and convenient to manipulate as a unit. hen, as with the nail-releasing arrangement just outlined, it becomes unnecessary to remove the tubes to relieve clogging, they may :be made rigid, and there forewith smooth interior surfaceswith which the conducted nails contact. These tubes are preferably formed into an assemblyby bars which retain their opposite extremities in fixed relation to 'one another. They may therefore be removed from the apparatus as a unit, and readily returned to their true relation to the'conduits which deliver to their upper extremities and the openings in the foot-bar into which they discharge, The position of the assembly with reference to the foot-bar may be fixed by the reception of a plurality of the assembled tubes in'openings toward and from said discharge-conduits, as

Fig. lis a front elevation of a portion of through the agency of a spring acting upon til a nail-distributor including my improved foot-bar and nail-tube assembly;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section on the line II-II of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a broken plan view of the top of the tube-assembly with a portion of its upper retaining means.

The general structure shown in the drawings resembles that of the patent already mentioned, and will not be described in detail. At 10 is seen the casing of the discharge device, through conduits 11 in which loads of nails are delivered from raceways (not illustrated). A perforated block, to be supplied with a plurality of these loads, appears at 12, it being mounted upon the carriage 14, fed forward step by step in its ways by ratchet mechanism indicated at 16. Mounted upon the car .ige, above the block, is a templet 1S, wl'nch guides nails to the bloclropenings 20 and prevents the longer nails from becoming unduly inclined. Though this ten'iplet is a part of the distributing apparatus and is not removable with the block, for the purposes of this invention it is, in effect, a portion of said block and will be so referred to hereafter.

The nails delivered by the discharge de vice pass through atubc-assembly A, there being in the assembly a tube 22 for each opening 20 of a series extending transversely of the block. I prefer these tubes to be so drawn of metal that they are rigid, their ere tension from registration with conduits of the discharge device to vertical alinement with a corresponding opening in the block being obtained by bending them in such a manner as to minimize clogging. The correct spacing of the tubes and their retention as aunitary structure is elfected by an upper bar B and a lower bar The bar B in cludes a rear section 26, in the forward edge of which is a series of V-depressions to re ceive the upper extremities of the tubes 22, which are thereby spaced for alineinent with the discharge-conduits. In the depressions, the tubes are clamped by a front section 28 of the bar secured to the section 26 by screws 30. The bar 24 is provided with vertical openings to receive the lower delivery-ends of the tubes, which are thereby separated' from one another to correspond to a series of openings 32 in a foot-bar 34. Certain of these tubes, as the two outer ones, are engage-d by set-screws threaded through the bar, which is thus held in place. The 1 same outer tubes are shown as extending below the footbar at 38, so they enter openings 32. This holds the lower portion of the tube-assembly from lateral displacement out of its normal regis yition with the foot-bar openings. At the under side of the casing 10 are spring-clips 40, 40 constructed and arranged to engage the upper portions of the outer tubes 22. These normally retain the assenn bled tubes in alinement with the discharge conduits, but will yield to permit the as sembly to be tipped forward for removal.

The foot-bar 34, which furnishes the lower support of the tube-assembly A, is, as in the previously mentioned patent, carried at the forward extremities of levers 42, and is joined by the link 44- to a transverse lever 46. Vhen the nails to be used are not so long as to project above the block, or, as in the present instance, above the block with its templet, it is unnecessary to lift the foot-bar to allow the block to be stepped forward. Under these conditions, the rigid assembly A produces no vinterference, and oscillating mechanism for the lever 46 is unnecessary. Vith this lever, however, I prefer to associate a spring 48. This acts to raise the foot-bar so it is pressed against the lower portion of the tube-assembly A, maintaining the tube-extensions 38 in the foot-bar openings and holding the assembly in place. The yield of this spring 48 al.- lows the foot-bar to be somewhat lowered to facilitate the separation of the assembly from the distributor.

.Vere such a clogging to occur as is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the upper nail N would prevent the forward travel of the carriage 14 to give access to the seat of the trouble, since this nail would contact with both the foot-bar and the block. It would ordinarily be necessary to take out the tube-assembly and work through the opening in the footbar. I minimize the effort required for clearing the nail N by furnishing, in the front of the foot-bar, a section which may be caused to yield by a force acting through a retained nail. Pivoted at 50 on the upper part of the front wall of the bar 34 is a section 52, which furnishes the wall at the forward side of the lower portion of the openings 32. A spring 54 is so connected that its tension may be applied at the opposite sides of the pivots to hold the section either closed or open. N ormally, the wall-section 52 is in the position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 2. When clogging occurs in the delivery to the block 12, the operator draws out the carriage 14 in its ways. If the retained nail is as indicated at N, the movement of the block, carrying the point of the nail with it in a direction transverse to the vertical conduits which terminate in the foot-bar, will force the head against the section 52. This yields and is thrown to its open position, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, to be there held by the spring 54, permitting the block to travel forward unimpeded. The caught nail may readily be removed, the carriage restored to its receiving relation, and the wall-section lowered for a continuation of the loading operation.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1, In a nail-distributing apparatus, a movthe apparatus to receive its load of nails. and

a conduit extending transversely to the direction of movement of the block and through which nails may pass to said block points foremost, the conduit having a yieldable wan arranged for .inovement in the direction of withdrawal of the block by a nail lyingin both the block and conduit. 7

3. Ina nail-distributing apparatus, a mov able nail-block arranged for association with Y the apparatus to receiveits load of nails, a

j'nail-tube extending transversely of the direction of movement of the nail-block and delivfor movement in thedirection of withdrawal ofthe block by a nail lying in both th'eblock V and conduit.

4. In a nail-distributing apparatus, a nailbar being arranged to maintain co-operation.

between the tubes and discharge-conduits.

. 8. In a nail distributing apparatus, a nailtube assembly comprising a series of rigid tubes, means for retaining the tubes in fixed.

relation to one another, discharge-conduits for delivering nails to the upper extremities ofthe tubes, a foot-bar contactingv with the lower ends of the tubes, and a spring acting upon the foot-bar and arranged to force the tubes into co-operation with the dischargeconduits.

, 9. In a nail-distributing apparatus, a nail tube assembly comprising a series of rigid tubes, bars retaining respectively the upper and lower extremities of the tubes in fixed relation to one another, discharge-conduits for delivering nails to the upper extremities of the tubes, a foot-bar contacting with the lower ends of the tubes and arrangedto maintain co-operation between the tubes and discharge conduits, and a spring-clip arran ed to engagethe upper portion of the assemb y.

In testimony whereof I have signed vmy name to this specification.

- ELMER R. POPE.

block provided with a series of nail-receiving openings and being removable from the apparatus, a series of tubes delivering to the open in s, a foot-bar in which the tubesterminate above the block and having nail-passages alined with the tubes, said foot-bar having a wall movable ,inthe direction of removal of the block, and a spring connected to the wall and arranged to both hold it normally in place upon the foot-bar and to maintain it spaced from said bar with the sides open. p

5. In a nail-distributing apparatus, a nailtube assembly comprising a series of rigid tubes, and bars retaining the opposite extremities of the tubes in fixed relation to one another, said assembly being separable from the apparatus as a unit.

6. In a nail-distributing apparatus, a nailof the passages tube assembly comprising a series of rigid tubes, means for retaining the tubes in fixed relation to one another removable from the apparatus as a unit, and a foot-bar provided with openings arranged to receive a pluralitv of the tubes of'suoh unitary assembly and fix it in a predetermined positionupon the footbar. I a I 7. In a nail distributing apparatus, a nailtube assembly comprising a series of rigid 7 tubes, means for retaining the upper and lower extremities of the tubes in fixed relation toone another, discharge-conduits for delivering nails to the upper extremities of 

